Viktor Grishin

Viktor Vasilyevich Grishin (Russian: Ви́ктор Васи́льевич Гри́шин; 18 September [O.S. 5 September] 1914 – 25 May 1992) was a Soviet politician. He was a candidate (1961–1971) and full member (1971–1986) of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Viktor Grishin Ви́ктор Гри́шин
First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the Communist Party
In office 27 June 1967 – 24 December 1985
Preceded by	Nikolay Yegorychev
Succeeded by	Boris Yeltsin
Chairman of the All-Union Council of Trade Unions
In office 17 March 1956 – 11 July 1967
Preceded by	Nikolay Shvernik
Succeeded by	Alexander Shelepin
Full member of the 24th, 25th, 26th Politburo
In office 9 April 1971 – 18 February 1986
Candidate member of the 22nd, 23rd Politburo
In office 31 October 1961 – 9 April 1971
Full member of the 19th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th Central Committee
In office 16 October 1952 – 6 March 1986
Personal details
Born	Viktor Vasilyevich Grishin 18 September [O.S. 5 September] 1914 Serpukhov, Russian Empire
Died	25 May 1992 (aged 77) Moscow, Russia
Nationality	Soviet
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1939-1986)

Grishin was born in Serpukhov, in the Moscow Governorate of the Russian Empire. In his early years, he worked on the Moscovy railroad, as a spike driver who retrofitted its railway system. He served in the Red Army from 1938 until 1940. In 1941, he was a Communist party functionary. He eventually rose to become leader of the Communist party in the city of Moscow from 1967 until 1985. He was renowned for his hardline stance.

During the final months of Konstantin Chernenko's life, Grishin had been considered as a possible contender to succeed Chernenko as General Secretary, and as a possible alternative to Mikhail Gorbachev.[1] In an attempt to stress his closeness to Chernenko, he dragged the terminally ill Soviet leader out to vote in early 1985. This action by Grishin backfired and was almost universally viewed as a cruel act. After Chernenko's death in March 1985, he declined to put himself forward as a candidate for succession and instead offered his support, albeit lukewarm, to Gorbachev. Gorbachev was subsequently unanimously elected as the General Secretary.

In late-December 1985, Grishin was replaced by Boris Yeltsin as the First Secretary of the Moscow party committee. On 18 February 1986, Grishin lost his position as a member of the Politburo.[2]

In a 1991 interview with the conservative Russian newspaper Molodaya Gvardiya, he claimed the only reason he lost was because "younger Party leaders, such as Yegor Ligachev, supported Gorbachev because they feared that if I had become Party boss, they would lose their posts."

On 25 May 1992, Grishin died at the age of 77. He suffered a heart attack at a welfare office in Moscow, where he went to register an increase in his state pension.

References

1. Garthoff, Raymond L. (1994). The Great Transition: American-Soviet Relations and the End of the Cold War. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution. pp. 168, 203. ISBN 0-8157-3060-8.
2. "USSR: Politburo and Secretariat Changes Under Gorbachev". CIA FOIA Reading Room. 13 March 1986. p. 3.

External links

• Archie Brown, The Gorbachev Factor. Oxford University Press, 1997. ISBN 978-0-19-288052-9
• Viktor Grishin, Ex-Moscow Party Chief, Dies at 77. New York Times, 27 May 1992. Accessed 14 December 2009.
• Viktor Grishin at Find a Grave